Last Dance
by JustArisu
Summary: Quietly they broke apart and smiled at each other. Then, without a single word, they moved, with the seamless grace of people who knew each other perfectly, across the floor for the last dance. This has been sitting in my files for almost a year...


She spun around the room, her delight showing clearly. She smiled up at her partner and then laughed at something he said before dancing away with someone else. A reluctant smile curved his lips at her unhidden joy in dancing. Then he sobered quickly and returned to watching her, his eyes dark and contemplative.

Even with a mask on her face charmed to disguise her features he knew her too well to be fooled. She was more beautiful than ever tonight, dramatic in vivid green dress robes embroidered with golden thread that spread light wherever she went, much as she was doing with her laughter. The green somehow made her creamy skin glow. Then again that might just be something he'd glorified her with, or perhaps it was her tangible happiness.

And her hair… her long red waves had been arranged into large curls. Half of them were caught at the top of her head in an intricate bun in which diamonds sparkled. The rest tumbled down her back in fashionable disarray, looking more red than usual against the rich green, except for when the light dispelled the shadows, leaving burnished gold.

Oh yes. Ginny Weasley was definitely stunning tonight.

But then she'd always been. It was a fact that had taken much too long for him to realize. It had, of course, taken him much longer to figure out that he was desperately in love with her and couldn't stay away any more.

He'd sent her away to Hogwarts, after a long summer of not talking to her and avoiding her, even at Bill and Fleur's wedding. He'd stood between Ron and Hermione, watching as the whole Weasley family hugged and kissed Ginny, the last to go to Hogwarts. He'd stood there on the platform, hanging back as everyone laughed and cried.

He'd stood there as she looked up from where she was being mobbed by her loving family and stared at him. It had taken all his will to not run up to her and sweep her into a hug and kiss her until the next century. Instead he just stood there and watched her calmly as she smiled sadly and turned away.

He'd stood on the platform and watched as the train pulled away, Ginny waving from the window, tears streaming down her face even as she laughed. He'd watched as she blew kisses at her family, trying to pretend she was happy. He stood there and tried to pretend that his heart wasn't breaking as she rode away, giving him one last long look.

And then she was gone.

Now that he thought back, it was odd how easily everyone had given in. Neither Mr. Weasley nor Mrs. Weasley had uttered a single protest when he, Ron and Hermione had told them about finding the Horcruxes and not going back to Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall had only smiled sadly and said that they were welcome back no matter what. She'd even given them an official invitation that would allow them to pass the wards.

It was that invitation that had led him back here. The three of them, the Golden Trio, had been sorting out their things after destroying another Horcrux. This one had had more protections than the last, meaning a nasty curse had gotten through their carefully erected shields even after it was destroyed. It was only Hermione's careful planning that had saved them. The second before their shields had broken down they'd been portkeyed away to their apartment. Efficient timing spell really.

Nevertheless, they had been looking through their things for more clues when Ron had come across their three invitations, still sealed in the envelope with Hogwarts crest. The three of them had fallen silent at that familiar symbol, longing for all the laughter that Hogwarts had given them. Ron had broken the spell by smiling grimly and saying, in an attempt to be cheerful, "Valentine's Day is coming up. Gin mentioned something about a dance. Funny that they'd have a dance in the midst of all this…"

And suddenly Hermione was set on going to the dance. She insisted that all three of them show up. She insisted that they have one day that was not spent sitting in musty libraries, reading old books. A day that was not spent poring over maps and Apparating all over the world, looking for the right place. A day that was spent just being the teenagers that they actually were, a fact that seemed almost impossible to believe.

For they had all changed so much.

Ron no longer thought about only food and Quidditch. Instead he concentrated on the two important things. Finding the Horcruxes and staying alive while they destroyed them. No longer was he the hot-tempered boy Harry had first met.

Hermione had changed just as much. While she still read more than the both of them now it was more out of necessity than for her pleasure. She understood the costs of not finding the right information, nothing as paltry as a lower grade. She understood that a single mistake could cost them their lives.

Harry… Harry looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He rarely laughed anymore, and when he did it was bitter, mocking laughter. Those famous green eyes were world weary, like no teenager's eyes should be.

It was because Hermione had seen too much of that tiredness in Harry's eyes, heard too much of that bitter laughter. That was why she wanted them all to go to Hogwarts. So they could have just one day. One day…

So here he was, standing in the corner of room, watching silently. But there was only so much he could take. He saw her step away and sit down and suddenly he found himself acting against his will as he made his way across the dance floor.

Ginny Weasley sat down, completely out of breath, cheeks red from the exertion. It was the first time she'd sat since the dance started. There was something intensely exciting about being able to dance with anybody and not face any repercussions. Gods knew she needed something to relax her after the year she was having.

She looked up in surprise when someone stopped in front of her. He was dressed in immaculate black robes, embroidered with silver. The robes were obviously expensive, tailored to fit his lean, well-muscled body. Whoever it was he was obviously handsome, his features shifting under her gaze but still giving her enough of a glimpse to piece together some of it. Just like with his features she could not make out his hair, only that it was dark, brown or black.

Her thoughts were cut off when the object of her musings held out a hand and lifted an eyebrow. She smiled slightly and took it, beginning to stand up. A startled smile curved her lips when he helped her up. An instant later she gasped and frowned, feeling a shock travel through her body at the touch of his hand. It was so familiar. Yet… she couldn't place it.

She shrugged it off and simply smiled again, waiting for the music to start. The feeling came back stronger than ever when they began to dance. But she closed her eyes and simply danced. Whoever he was, he was a divine dancer. Their steps fit together perfectly and they moved with a grace that Ginny did not find with every partner.

All too soon the song was over and she pulled away reluctantly. She stopped when a hand tightened around hers. She looked up and saw pleading in those eyes whose color she could not place. So she allowed herself one more dance, this one a slow one. She swept around the dance floor with him, dreaming that it was Harry. How she missed him…

Then the song stopped and Professor McGonagall's voice came on. "And now it is time to unmask ourselves for the last dance! So on the count of three, ladies and gentlemen. One. Two. Three."

Ginny reached up and pulled her mask off, grinning when it shrank efficiently enough to be tied around her wrist like a charm bracelet. The smile froze on her face when her partner reached up slowly and took off his mask, and with it all the charms.

She stood and stared at the familiar features that had changed so much. He had gotten taller, more fit. He was tanned and his glasses were gone, replaced by contacts. His eyes… Oh his eyes… There was a haunted quality to them that vied with uncertainty and love. It was those eyes that made her throw her arms around him and bury her face in his shoulder. "Harry…"

Harry sighed in relief, a load lifted off his heart when she hugged him fiercely. He wrapped his arms around her slim body and tightened them just enough, relishing in the familiar feeling that swept through him. How he'd missed her…

He closed his eyes and remembered her startled face from seconds before. Her much beloved features had changed with her carefully applied makeup. Her brown eyes, framed by long dark lashes, dominated her face, striking against her pale skin. Green shimmered on her eyelids, the exact shade of her robes. The slightest touch of pink on her cheeks finished off the effect perfectly. She was so beautiful.

He pulled back slightly from the hug, loosening one arm so he could tilt Ginny's face up to meet his. The blindingly beautiful smile on her face took his breath away. He opened his mouth to explain but suddenly he knew that nothing he said was important. She understood anyways.

Instead he smiled, a smile that hadn't been seen for much too long, a smile of a boy in love, and he bent down and kissed her. Her lips curved against his and she kissed him back, a long sweet kiss that spoke of love beyond words.

Quietly they broke apart and smiled at each other. Then, without a single word, they moved, with the seamless grace of people who knew each other perfectly, across the floor for the last dance.


End file.
